Freire's "Pedagogy of the Oppresed"

I find “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” to be a fascinating document because of how widely read, shared, and discussed. That specifically, is fascinating because from my own personal experience (as well as observation from and of others), there many teachers who still follow this “banking” method of instruction. This material and philosophy has been around for a long time, yet some teachers don’t see the problem with the banking dichotomy. The idea of rejecting that notion is something that I’ve been very passionate about. So much so, in fact, that it’s one of the main reasons that I have decided to pursue teaching. I don’t believe for one second that my intellectual capability and intelligence is above any of my students. Nor do I believe that my knowledge is superior. I think where the superiority complex stems from improper cultivation of teachers is many of them were trained during a period of curriculum that was based on knowledge of the world and facts, as opposed to skills and understanding of the knowledge.

Many would say that putting yourself on the level of the students is a very postmodern approach. But I actually think it’s not. To me, focusing on the growth of a students’ skills and wisdom, and not treating them as inferior, is a way to reinforce their individuality. Teaching from this perspective means to teach from the heart. This can be difficult and take a lot of courage because it means making yourself vulnerable to your students. But once you do that, it means the students can open themselves up as well. Like Freire says, teachers and students can both learn side by side and strengthen each other. In doing this, the students and the teacher will be stronger individuals, with stronger self-efficacy, which in turn, produces better learning.